by C. Litka
06
We'd left the islands behind, and the meal was "Fini Lizard Baked Casserole", my least favorite, so I finished early and retired to the afterdeck to get some fresh air.
Captain KimTara was leaning against the after rail, watching the thin trail of smoke disperse into the pale blue sky-sea for some time.
The afterdeck was enclosed on each side by a steel bulwarks with a heavy cage arching overhead to keep dragons out and people in. It was sheltered from the wind of the vessel cruising at some 80 kilometers per hour by the two story bridge house that spanned the full beam of the ship. Above the grating was a second, narrow boat deck, stretching back from the bridge to the smokestack located at the after edge of the deck. The ship's two launches were on davits on either side of this deck. On both sides of the smokestack were canvas covered housing for the launching tubes of the ship's rocket defense weapons. (There are also launchers on the bow and stern decks.) Half a dozen rockets were stored in sealed boxes along the mounts. Ships like the Lora Lakes have little to worry about from either pirates or dragons. There were thousands of far more tempting smaller island traders for pirates to attack. And the dragons of the Saraime knew to keep their distance from all but the smallest of boats.
Along the centerline of the after deck - under the boat deck - rose a meter-high casing with a series of cranked open sky lights leading down to the engine room, allowing some light to find its way in and heat to find its way out. Circling these skylights was a long bench. I took my seat on the after end of it, behind the skipper, and listened to the whirl of my turbine and generators for awhile, over the subtle thumping of the propellers astern and the rush of the slipstream over and around us.
Knowing that the skipper found conversation trying, I said nothing, until she turned back, saw me in the shadows under the boat deck and turned away again.
'Quiet out here,' I remarked. 'Quieter, anyways.'
'It was.'
I smiled. 'Oh, come now Captain. I just said half a dozen words. I was just being polite.'
'Yes, of course.'
'Still, we should talk more, you know, to build a certain understanding between us.'
'Our jobs define our understanding.'
'Then a friendship, an easy partnership.'
'A partnership? I believe you work for me.'
I grinned. 'Ah, see, already you're off course. You're in command of the ship. I am, however, in command of my engine room. Hence, our need to establish a comfortable working relationship - at a minimum. A friendship would be even better.'
She turned to me, watching me from the railing. 'I am in command of this ship. And you are under my command.'
'Correct. However, I have found, both as a captain and now as an engineer, that it serves a captain well to consider the chief engineer as a partner, if only because we have such an inflated sense of self-importance that we sulk easily. You don't want to deal with a sulky chief engineer.'
'Sulk all you want.'
'I'm joking, Captain. I'm trying to say that I found it nice to be able to talk to my shipmates as equals rather than subordinates. Subordinates are all fine and proper, but are not people you can speak your heart to. Of course, with your cousin on board, you may not feel the need...'
'I have no need to speak my heart.'
'Yes, of course - you are who you are. It is just that I have this pattern in my head of how my old ship operated. Of course we'd been sailing together for a 10,000 rounds. Here, we're just starting out, but I'd like to see the Lora Lake develop into that sort of ship.'
'Unlikely.'
'Unlikely, or not desirable?'
'Personnel come and go. No one will be aboard the Lora Lakes for 10,000 rounds.'
'True. Still, it shouldn't take 10,000 rounds.' But I could see I wasn't making any headway, so I left it ride. 'Enough said.'
'I agree,' she replied and turned back to stare out over the afterdeck to watch the spinning of our propellers and the thin trail of steam and smoke that twirled away in our wake.
I remained sitting silently, watching the same smoke trailing away, wondering how I could be so bloody Unity Standard. My parents were both spaceers, who as a group are generally not considered all that Unity Standard, and with half my ancestors seeming to have been rather ruthless practitioners of the martial arts, it seemed strange that I should feel compelled to seek a friendship with such an unlikely person. But, I guess, the arguments actually applied to me. I had Hissi as a companion and friend, and even as a friend, Captain KimTara would likely offer no more conversation than Hissi. But at least she would be an equal, something scarce on the deck of this small freighter. No matter how friendly and easygoing I might be with my engine room crew, I would always be their boss, and that always colors every relationship. Perhaps it was loneliness rather than any Unity Standardness that had me try to reach the very remote, Captain KimTara.
I was Unity Standard enough not to give up trying. I merely gave up trying to carry on a conversation with her. Instead, we spent some time after the main meal on the afterdeck, usually alone. We rarely said anything, but she didn't object, and would, sometimes, join me on the bench. I think by the time we reached "Halfway Islands", we'd reached our understanding.
Chapter 27 Halfway Islands to DeArjen's Islands